capturing visitor data from ENV VARS?

[bazz]

Hi,

I was pondering last night about building a program to capture visitor statistics. I know its been done elsewhere and I could be considered, re-inventing the wheel but that aside...

Is it possible to caputure a piece of data from a users's PC, which would be consistent everytime they return. I would like to be able to identify previous visitors, so that their repeat visits, don't show up as though they are new, first-time visitors.

Were it possible I would like to capture the serial number (or something), of their o/s, that would be unique to that user on that PC. I don't really want to use cookies so, I would appreciate hearing some of your greater knowledge.


Baz

[FishMonger]

Cookies is your best and most appropriate method. It is possible to do it without cookies, but that would put you into the realm of spyware, which I'm unwilling to assist with. Do you really want to invade your visitors privacy with your spyware?

[bazz]

... but that would put you into the realm of spyware, which I'm unwilling to assist with. Do you really want to invade your visitors privacy with your spyware?

NOPE!! I don't want to go that route.

I just thought that there might be a better (more accurate), way to record my visitors. Is it not the case that whenever they might delete thier cookies, that they would then appear to be a new visitor when in reality they would not be?

Maybe that's just how it got to be.

Bazz

[TheShaner]

Yes, they would appear to be a new visitor if their cookies have been cleared. I usually clean mine out about once a month. So there's no completely accurate way to do it. Recording IPs, as you know, would be useless since IPs change. Cookies can be cleared. All other "acceptable" ways of obtaining a unique ID of the person can all be changed and/or cleared. That is why sites rely on logins and games rely on GUIDs for tracking people, but even those can be fooled with of course (multiple login names and separate game installs). You'd be better off using cookies and possibly adding a mathematical function that skews your results a bit less than your current count to account for an occasional clearance of cookies. Maybe someone's done a little research on that, hehe.

-Shane

[FishMonger]

It depends on what you deem to be a "new visitor". I have 4 computers at home that I can and do use to access the Internet not including the ones I use at work, and elseware. Based on your question, I'd be able to access your site from any of them and you'd see each of them as a "new vistior". It would be better to track "new visitors" by using logins and maintaining a database. Other than that you might want to use a web stats package that tracks this type of info.

[bazz]

Thank you both.

@FishMonger

yeh I have looked at web stats packages but I can't seem to find one which does what I need. Indeed, one of my friends has several stats packages and they give different results. :eek:

Still, I suppose, they are statistics and they'll get distroted at some point like all the rest. :rolleyes: ;)

bazz

[nkrgupta]

.......Indeed, one of my friends has several stats packages and they give different results. :eek:

Still, I suppose, they are statistics and they'll get distroted at some point like all the rest. :rolleyes: ;)

bazz

Very true... after working for the past few months on the same, i can vouch for the above.

Here's (http://www.analog.cx/docs/webworks.html) an interesting account of what CAN be done and what CAN NOT be done (with accuracy... i.e.) when it comes to Web Sttistics. And its coming from one of the market leaders in Web Stats Softwares

Naveen

[bazz]

useful reading there nkrgupta.

So for my customers' needs, The stats we can accurately gather are pretty meaningless.

Must, then, build their shopping carts so they can know about their customers rather than their non-purchasing, site visitors.

bazz